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Tottenham target Lamela doesn't play for Roma - Is a move imminent?

Erik Lamela has travelled to Livorno for the opening game of the Serie A season, but he sat on the bench.

This time next week, Gareth Bale will no longer be a Tottenham Hotspur player - whether you like it or not, that is now seemingly the truth.

The Welshman is now reportedly in Spain ahead of a potential permanent switch to Real Madrid - and Spurs have already started planning for a post-Bale life.

The club has made some sound investments in the transfer market this summer, and it seems as though the signings have not stopped yet, with more players being linked with the club.

Vlad Chiriches is expected to sign in the coming days in a £8.5 million deal from Steaua Bucharest - while reports today suggested that Andre Villas-Boas could be on the verge of making a £30 million bid for his former player at Porto, Hulk of Zenit St Petersburg.

But another player, long linked with a move to White Hart Lane has also been linked again this weekend - with some reports suggesting a deal has been concluded, in principle, with AS Roma for the signature of Argentine attacker Erik Lamela.

But as strong as these reports were, they were contradicted almost immediately. The Giallorossi manager Rudi Garcia spoke openly of his belief that Lamela would be staying - and then proceeded to include him in the Roma squad for their opening game of the Serie A campaign.

That raised doubt over his availability, but yet another twist in this respective transfer saga.

Because Erik Lamela may have been in the Roma squad for the game with Livorno, but he did not feature.

Usually Lamela would be one of the first names on the team sheet, but on this occasion he did not manage to enter the fray, spending the entire game sitting forlorn on the poky benches at the Stadio Armando Picchi - as Roma won 2-0.

Roma even made three subs, but it was Gervinho, Marquinho and Rodrigo Taddei who came on - not Lamela.

With some reports suggesting a deal could be done by Tuesday, you have to wonder why Rudi Garcia would leave the Argentine out, if he is as important to him as he makes out.

Mathew Nash

I’m Mathew Nash a 27 year old graduate in Sports Studies and I have an insatiable love for sport. With a particularly keen interest for the madcap world of football I have always been known amongst friends as a beacon for bizarre sporting trivia and knowledge. My other passion is for writing and hopefully combining the two will create a superb and entertaining marriage that will create, divide and share opinion.Mathew is a correspondent for the NextGen Series, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga.